Magnetic amusement device requiring playing skill



March 8, 1949. F. J. NEUZERLING MAGNETIC AMUSEMENT DEVICE REQUIRING PLAYING SKILL Filed June 30, 1947 INVENTQR. F RANCI; J.NEUZE.RLINC.\

Patented Mar. 8, i949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAGNETIC AMUSEMENT DEVICE REQUIRING PLAYING SKILL Francis J. Neuserling, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application June 30, 1947, Serial No. 158,016

2 Claims.

This invention relates to amusement devices or games employing a playing board and movable game pieces, the movement of which over the board is controlled by skill.

Many amusement devices employ boards and game pieces, the movements or which over the surface of the board are magnetically controlled;

however, in none of these devices is the skill of the player employed to cause the piece to move over hurdles on the board.

It is an object 01' this invention therefore to provide an amusement device in which manual skill and dexterity is employed in guiding game pieces along a course one board and over hurdles on said course.

A further object of this invention is to provide an amusement device in the use of which the player attempts to make game pieces pass over hurdles placed on a-course of travel, and in which the pieces, according to the manipulating skill of the player. will sometimes climb the hurdles and sometimes balk at them.

These objects are obtained by providing a nonmagnetic playing board which has hurdles the tops of which are raised from the surface of the board. A permanent control magnet of the bar type is movably mounted below the board and is manually operated by means of a rod extending beyond the side of the board so that it passes beneath the hurdles. A game piece having a permanent magnet of the bar type is designed to slide along the surface of the board with the control magnet. The piece magnet and the control magnet normally attract each other and move in unison with unlike poles superimposed.

When the game piece strikes against a hurdle its movement is arrested. As a consequence of continued movement of the control magnet the unlike poles of the respective magnets are moved apart and like poles are brought into closer relationship. The repulsion between these like poles raises an end of the piece so that it will be at the top of the hurdle. As this occurs the game piece may slide over the hurdle under the force of attraction or if the rate of relative separation between the magnets is too great it may turn sidewise to the hurdle. Thus asthe rod is manipulated to move the control magnet along the undersurface oi the game board. the same piece will simultaneously move along its surface 2 and as it reaches ahurdle it will either ride up and over, or balk and become free from the control magnet. However control can again be obtained by reversing the movement of the control magnet.

The novel features, which are considered characteristic of the invention, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, to ether with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of an amusement device embodying present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are diagrammatic views showing the change in relationship between a control magnet and a game piece by which repulsion is utilized to cause the game piece magnet to ride over the hurdle; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the game piece in the act of traveling over a hurdle and showing in broken lines the position sometimes assumed when the game piece because of poor control refuses to travel over such hurdle. v Referring to drawings, there is shown an amusement device embodying the present invention in which the game pieces are shown in the form of pigs and the game board is shown as having four straight courses directed radially from the center to each edge of the game board. This is, 'of course. only one form of a. game in which the invention may be utilized. The figure of the game'pieces may be altered and the direction. shape, and numberof courses may be altered as desired.

In the embodiment shown, the game board is made of two panels of cardboard; a top panel l0 and a lower panel II. The panels are held in spaced relation by a frame formed of four border strips l3. Each of the b rder strips has an 'upper groove i4 and into which the edges 'of top panel III are inserted and a lower groove l5 into which the edges of the lower panel II are inserted. The upper panel III has laid out on its surface four courses It, each of which lead from the center of each strip ll to a central portion I1. Each course It is provided at spaced intervals with five hurdles l8. In this exemplification the hurdles l8 are made of wood and cemented to the surface of the Panel ill. It is preferable that the sides of the hurdles be substantially vertical to the Plane of the panel III to provide a positive arresting wall for the game piece. The hurdles It need not be made as separate elements, and may be formed integrally with the game board so long as they function to arrest the movement of the game pieces.

Between the two panels l0 and II there is slidably mounted four permanent bar type control magnets l9. Each magnet is mounted in wooden block 20 which guides the magnet between the panels [0 and II. Each block 20 has a rod 2| extending out through a bearing 22 .in the center of each border strip I3. The outer ends of the rods 2| may be provided with knobs 23 by which the magnets l9 may be controlled and which limits its inward movement. The co-action between the rods 2| and the openings 22 guides the magnets I! so that they travel beneath their respective courses It. The control magnets I8 may be individually operated and can be slid from fully extended position adjacent the strips It to the fully contracted position within the confines of the center portion II.

There are four playing pieces 24, one for each course, which have a figure in the form of a pig. Each playing piece is mounted on a permanent bar type magnet 25. The magnets 25 are of substantially the same size and strength as the control magnets 19 and when a piece 24 is placed on a course IS in the field of a control magnet IS, the magnets normally arrange themselves in alinement with their unlike poles superimposed as shown in Fig. 5. The control magnets l9 are mounted so that their longitudinal axes are substantially parallel to their path of travel. Care must be exercised that each control magnet I 9 has identical poles facing the center of the board 'and that each piece magnet has identical poles (but the unlike poles from the control magnets) facing the head of the animal constituting the figure of the game piece. Thus in the normal position the head of the figure will be toward the center of the game board. It is also preferable that the ends and sides of the playing piece 25 which confront the hurdles l8 be substantially vertical to the plane of the board. The sides of the hurdle thus engage the ends or sides of the piece to arrest the movement of the game piece, even though the control magnet continues its movement. It is not necessary that the game pieces 24 be made of two parts, namely, the bar type magnet 25 and the non-magnetic figure. The entire piece may be of magnetizable material. It is only essential that the game piece have a north pole at one end and a south pole at the other end which poles are spaced substantially the same distance as the poles of the control magnet l9.

In the operation of the device, as the control magnet I9 is slid along under the course It, the game piece 24 slides along in unison with it on the surface of the course. The magnets l9 and 25 are arranged with unlike poles superimposed and attracting each other as shown in Fig 5. When the game piece 24 abuts a hurdle l8 its movement will be arrested, and upon continued advancement of the control magnet, the trailing pole of the control magnet IE will approach the leading pole of the game piece 25 as shown in Fig. 6. As these poles are like poles there is a repulsion between them and the front of the same piece 24 will be raised to the top as shown in Fig. 7. The piece will then, because of the continued attraction of the unlike poles, slide over hurdle l8 and assume its normal position with respect to the control magnet as shown in Fig. 8. However if the velocity of relative advance between the control magnet and the piece magnet is too great the attraction force will be broken and the piece 24 will not advance over the hurdle I8 as shown in the full lines of Fig. 9, but instead will twist and turn with respect to hurdle i8 and assume the position shown in the broken lines of such figure. Because of this it takes considerable skill to move the piece along the surface of the course up and over each hurdle and therefore the device lends itself to use as a game of skill.

Many rules may be used for playing the game. The four players may simultaneously start their pieces at the outer edge and the first player to get his piece into home will receive points depending upon the position of the other players piece at that time. Best results are usually obtained if the velocity of the control magnet II is kept constant at the best speed. Under this condition there is some utilization of the momentum of the game piece to get it over the hurdle. However, if such velocity is too great, control of the piece will be lost. By that it is meant that the control magnet is and piece magnet 25 are moved out of their respective attractive fields. When this occurs the player will have to retract the control magnet I 9 until the piece is again under control. This also utilizes time and requires skill on the part of the player.

The essential characteristic of the amusement device is the use of a magnetically controlled game piece which rides over a hurdle. It may be used in other forms than that herein described. Instead of straight courses leading to a central home, it is possible to use the hurdles to form enclosures with the object of getting the game piece out of the enclosure by having it climb over a series of fences. This application is therefore intended to cover such changes and modifications as come within the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an amusement device utilizing a game piece projector and playing piece both having bar-type magnets which normally slide in unison on opposite sides of a playing board with unlike poles superimposed, a non-magnetic playing board having a course for said game piece, said board having fixed thereto in said course a hurdle having a wall projecting above the plane of the surface of said course, said wall being high enough to engage a playing piece and arrest the sliding movement thereof while the game piece projector is moved relative to the playing piece to superimpose like poles thereof, said wall being low enough to permit an end of the game piece to slide over the top of said wall when such end is raised by repulsion between like poles of said piece and projector.

2. In an amusement device having a non-magnetic playing board upon which a bar-type magnet controlled playing piece is slid by a bar-type magnet game piece projector movable mounted below the board, the provision on said board of a game piece course, said course having fixedly positioned thereon in the normal use of the device a plurality oi'spaced hurdles the tops of which are raised above the surface of said course, a hurdle in the normal use of thedevice arresting the sliding movement of the playing piece relative to the movement of the projector to cause said magnets to have like poles vsuperimposed and permit the repulsion thereupon set up to raise an end of the playing piece from the surface of the course to the top of the hurdle.

FRANCIS J. NEUZERUING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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